The invention relates to a connection of a wiper arm and a wiper blade for an automotive windshield wiper in which the wiper blade has a bracket for guiding a wiper strip, and this bracket in turn has a connecting segment for a pivoting connection with a hooked curved wiper arm end. The hooked wiper arm end extends around a connector and can be connected to this, e.g., by snap lock action. The connector is mounted to pivot on a hinge pin, which extends across between two parallel side walls that are spaced a distance apart on the bracket of the wiper blade, forming the connecting segment of the bracket.
Such wiper arm-wiper blade connections, which are known from German Patent DE-AS 2,515,388, European Patent EP 455,520 A1 or German Patent DE 36 18 326 C2, for example, have a significant disadvantage in that it is difficult and sometimes complicated to replace a wiper blade. To do so, the wiper blade must be twisted with respect to the wiper arm out of its working position, the wiper blade must then be shifted in the longitudinal direction of the wiper arm to detach the connector from the wiper arm or to link it to the arm, and the connector must then be removed from the hinge pin possibly by turning again, or locked onto the hinge pin, depending on the specific embodiment. This can lead to a situation where a driver postpones changing the wiper blade, although it is actually necessary, and this is often even more difficult when the wiper arm is attached to the vehicle.
Wiper arm-wiper blade connections are already known in which a connector attached to a hooked end of the wiper arm can be inserted from above into the connecting segment of the wiper-blade bracket and can be locked onto the hinge pin. Such a solution, which is known from European Patent EP 319,161 A1, for example, does permit easier handling when changing wiper blades, but here there is a danger that, especially after repeated wiper blade replacements, the snap connection between the connector and the bracket has worn out and no longer guarantees a sufficiently secure connection. When the wiper arm is swung out away from the windshield, e.g., for cleaning the windshield, the wiper blade may fall off the wiper arm.
The object of the invention is to improve on a wiper arm-wiper blade connection of the type described in the introduction, so as to guarantee simple handling when changing wiper blades and also to guarantee a secure connection between the wiper arm and the wiper blade.